Topic: How long do you get to play?

I'm an Anesthesiologist working in private practice. So I only work if there is surgery, it can be at any time of day, any day. So, some time there are 6-7 surgeries a day, sometimes 1, sometimes none.

My girlfriend (we live together) is on the third out of four years in the medical residency of anesthesiology... Yes, I'm his teacher... She is on all day shift every third day, so those are the gaming heavy days. It can be all day, depending on the surgeries. So it varies a lot, it can be more than 20 hours per week, or 4-6 hours per week.

Wish I could take my switch to long surgeries, but I think it would not be good idea in the long run.

On average, probably 30 minutes to an hour most weeknights, and 1-3 hours a day on weekends. Sometimes more when I'm enthralled by a new game, sometimes less when work is kicking my butt or I'm in the middle of a good book.

Gaming is my leisure time activity of preference, but I guess internet surfing (mainly gaming related) gets just as much time.

I have kids, a job, and also try to go on a nighttime run fairly regularly, plus I have a dog who needs walking, but if I'm not running then I can usually find 2-4 hrs at night (depending on how late I'm prepared to go bed - sometimes I'll indulge and stay up til 1-2am) of time to myself, which then is mostly spent on the internet or gaming. Sometimes I'll game when I should be working too.

On average I guess it's somewhere between 10 and fifteen hours per week gaming, depending on work pressures, family gatherings, and DIY jobs around the house (of which there are many that I prefer to neglect but sometimes get into).

That's totally different to how it was for me 6 years ago, when I barely gamed at all. Then I got a Wii U and realised how much I valued gaming and off-TV play, so I added a N3DS and Switch to the family, so Wii U, N3DS and Switch is where most of my gaming time is spent.

As I've disclosed before, this is all complicated by the fact that I've hidden my N3DS and Switch purchases from my family, cos my partner's not got a particularly pro-gaming attitude. So it saves me some grief, but hampers me at times too.

Edit: Is should also add I get to game with my kids sometimes too, depending on their good behaviour. Primarily this is currently LEGO Star Wars and Indiana Jones, but stuff like Wind Waker and SM3DW have featured, and I've recently introduced the 5 yr old to the PEGI 16 The Force Unleashed on Wii.

Wait... Maybe I read it wrong, but does your partner not know about you owning and playing the Switch and 3DS? That sounds really complicated!

@toiletduck No, I don't think so. They did once stumble half asleep upon me playing ARMS, and they did once move my Switch, which was inside its case down the side of the sofa, but as far as I'm aware the fact it's a new console that I've not shown the family has not been realised... or maybe it didn't seem significant.

I've now got a second Switch and have started keeping a dock behind the family TV in the lounge. No-one else ever looks behind there, so it's fairly inconspicuous.

@gcunit
wow.... You have to hide your hobby from your family? That doesn't sound very healthy?

Hmm, I say an hour a day.

I have family + kids (one of them with special needs/care)
I HAVE to work out every day - mostly the benefit from brain health than anything else.
And I really like to read books as well - mostly short stories.

So my relax time is divided between reading and gaming.

I started playing Dragon Quest 11, but found out I have to play an hour a day in three months completing it. Soooo I just uninstalled it for now. I really like shorter games - top 40 hours gameplay, But prefer around 10-15 or less.

@gcunit ok that ís complicated! Good luck with that, I sincerely hope it keeps working for you!

I don't have to hide my hobby, but I chose to hide some of my purchases because I decided I wanted to get into gaming more, build up a nice collection, and spend my money how I wanted to spend it without getting grief for it. My partner could probably do with re-assessing how healthy it was to grief me about it in the first place though. And by pushing me into hiding some of my purchases I think I've ended up spending a lot more.

As a father of a 2 yo, very little. But it depends on the day and the console:

Working days allow me to play a little, because I commute, and that's about 1 h 20 round trip every day, but it has to be on a portable, of course. Switch saved my life. If I'm lucky and my kid falls asleep fast, I can grab a pad and play -currently Mega Drive Mini- for 10-15 minutes before dinner, but this doesn't happen too often.

On weekends I use to pick one of the nights and go mad until maybe 3 or 4 am, but my daughter wakes up at 7 regardless, and I pay for that madness becoming a zombie on the next day. Anyway, when I do that I choose a TV console, because I have the rest of the week for portables.

All this has made me rethink my gaming life. I seriously have to put the brake on purchases, because I don't have the time, yet I have hundreds of games. And I have to play more "shorter" games and not RPGs, but as a Dragon Quest lover I can't help it... I'm currently playing Dragon Quest IX, and began on June.

So maybe I play 6 to 9 hours a week. And that's sacrificing other hobbies of mine like watching TV shows and reading, and from time to time I try to balance it a little and cut a couple hours from gaming.

Depend on my mood.
Sometimes i can play between 2 - 3 hours in a day, including playing Dance Dance Revolution Arcade.
Sometimes just 1 hour in a day if i really busy with my work.
But since i still single and live with my Mom and my siblings, i can keep pursuing my gaming hobby.

I plan to play around 10 hours every week across all platforms, but I doubt I hit that mark very often. My guess would be an average of about 5 hours a week across the entire year.

Also have kids and spend maybe 7-14 hours a week depending on if I play after they go to bed and during my 2yos naps.